Memories

I’ve neglected my blog…or, to be precise, because I’ve stopped consciously wanting to blog, my blog has turned into a way to publish show notes for my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast. I wonder how much of this has happened because I’m simply too busy to blog about anything but my podcasts. Perhaps the apparent decline of interest in the blogosphere has contributed to this shift too. Without a scientific study, or at least an in-depth investigative report, there’s no telling what’s what.

For the first time since I started my blog back in 2004, I’ve refrained from going through the usual end of year rituals. This had been on the wane for the last couple of years, so you could say that it simply died a natural death. However, through the M3P I’ve maintained the general (if not the personal) aspect of the annual end-of-year round-up for 2010. I believe that this is a start of a new way to do things during this decade and hopefully even beyond.

The adventure that is/was MaltaMedia has morphed into something quite different in the last year or so. I could have blogged heavily about all that but chose not to dwell on what could or should have been (I could have blogged about the demise of the monthly aboutmalta.com newsletter after 10 years of continuous publication) and focused on the positive developments ahead. I should probably blog about those in 2011. Part of these developments involves rethinking the portfolio of websites in the MaltaMedia Online Network, as well as continuing to improve and develop the best aspects of all that, as we’ve done with maltafootball.com in 2010.

Many people in Malta still continue to associate me with Eurovision. This is probably because they only ever see/hear me whenever this event is near or on. I don’t mind. I can’t expect everyone to engage with the complex and eclectic interests I have in all aspects of Maltese life, and even less with my interests beyond Maltese shores. I will continue to blog about Malta’s entries to the Eurovision Song Contest but keep the best ideas for the Eurovision Research Network. Judging by the official URL chosen for this year’s selection process and eventual entry I seriously doubt that any of my recommendations have been taken seriously by anyone that matters, if they’re even aware of them at all.

Now that my Franklin Furnace book is out (we’ll actually start marketing it next week) I can focus on other writing projects. I already have five plates spinning in front of me this year: (1) a couple of short essays for a book on Maltese photography; (2) a new performance theory I’m introducing at a February workshop at Royal Holloway, which I’m hoping to eventually develop as a chapter for a 2012 book called Performing the ‘New’ Europe; (3) a chapter for the Routledge Handbook of Social Media; (4) co-editing a book on Performance in Virtual Worlds; and (5) a couple of other ideas that are currently still in formation.

I will do my best to give this blog more time than I have over the past few months. The many readers of this blog over the years have been (mostly) a source of joy for me, with comments, suggestions and all sorts of recommendations that have enriched my online experiences. Now I’m off to focus on the first of those writing assignments…and perhaps I’ll blog about them as I go too, especially if any readers of this blog show me a sign of life.